Apple ETFs in Focus Post New iPad Launch

Sweta Killa
·4-min read

Apple AAPL, during a virtual launch event, unveiled a new lineup of iPads for the first time in two years. The tech giant launched two new versions of its top-end iPad Pro models and two new versions of its mid-tier iPad Air. It also debuted the Apple Pencil Pro stylus and an updated Magic Keyboard case for the iPad Pro line. The new models are expected to hit stores next week and are expected to drive global tablet market share.

That said, ETFs having the largest allocation to the tech titan are in focus. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK, Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGT, MSCI Information Technology Index ETF FTEC, iShares US Technology ETF IYW and Invesco QQQ QQQ have Apple as the top or second firm with a double-digit allocation and carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy).

Insights Into the New Models

The two new iPad Pro models are the thinnest products ever (5.1 mm) and come with an M4 processor, Ultra Retina XDR display and AI. This is the “biggest update ever” to iPad Pro. The M4 chipset has been introduced for the first time by Apple. The 11-inch model costs $999, while the 13-inch model is priced at $1,299.

The company said the iPad Pro could be a useful tool for professional video producers and announced a new app called Final Cut Camera that can control multiple iPhone cameras. The iPad Pro comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera that can record 4K video, according to Apple.

The iPad Pro also offers support for a bunch of accessories, including the new Apple Pencil Pro, priced at $129 and Magic Keyboard, which is available at $299 for the 11-inch model and at $329 for the 13-inch model.

Meanwhile, the new models of iPad Air, the mid-range tablet, are available in two sizes. The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599 for 128GB of storage, while the 13-inch version starts at $799.  Apple has moved the front-facing camera to the longer side of the device — landscape mode — to improve videoconferencing, matching the more expensive iPad Pro models. The iPad Air comes in a variety of colors, including blue, purple and gold.

All the new models are 50% faster than the previous generation and 10 times faster than the original iPad Pro or iPad Pro models. The new devices will help to bolster Apple‘s struggling tablet division and provide stiff competition to Samsung and OnePlus. The tech giant’s iPad sales declined 17% to $5.6 billion in second-quarter fiscal 2024 (read: ETFs to Buy on Apple's Q2 Earnings Beat, Largest-Ever Buyback).

Solid Fundamentals

Apple boasts the world’s highest stock market valuation, at nearly $2.8 trillion. It has seen a negative earnings estimate revision of a penny for the current fiscal year (ending September 2024) but a positive estimate revision of 8 cents for the next fiscal over the past 30 days. The iPhone maker has an estimated earnings growth rate of 6.62% for this fiscal year, higher than the industry average growth of 4.60%.

Apple currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.82 on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell etc.) made by 30 brokerage firms. The current ABR compares to an ABR of 1.80 a month ago based on 28 recommendations.

Of the 30 recommendations deriving the current ABR, 17 are Strong Buy and three are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy, respectively, account for 56.67% and 10% of all recommendations. A month ago, Strong Buy made up 57.14%, while Buy represented 10.71%.

Based on short-term price targets offered by 29 analysts, the average price target for Apple comes to $204.23. The forecasts range from a low of $158.00 to a high of $250.00.

Currently, Apple carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The stock is cheap, trading at a P/E ratio of 27.80 compared with Amazon’s (AMZN) 41.56 times, Netflix’s (NFLX) 32.62 times and Microsoft’s (MSFT) 35.16 times  (see: all the Technology ETFs here).

ETFs in Focus

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK): Apple accounts for 20.8% share

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT): Apple accounts for a 15.4% share.

MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): Apple makes up 15.4% of the assets.

iShares US Technology ETF (IYW): Apple makes up 15.6% of the assets.

iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF (IWY): Apple accounts for 11.5% share.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Invesco QQQ (QQQ): ETF Research Reports

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK): ETF Research Reports

Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF (FTEC): ETF Research Reports

iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT): ETF Research Reports

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Singapore Airlines’ CEO gets pay bump after record annual profit

    Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong was paid S$8.11 million ($6 million) last financial year, a 21% increase from the previous period.

  • Now you can invest in digital gold from just RM10 with your TNG eWallet

    KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Malaysians can now invest in digital gold securely and conveniently from as low as RM10 following...

  • How do you count? Anwar asks Perikatan amid debate over proposed GIP acquisition of MAHB shares

    KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today maintained that Malaysia is not at risk of losing c...

  • Stock market today: Nasdaq leads gains to kick off new quarter as Tesla pops 6%

    Political turmoil in France gripped investors weighing whether stocks can build on their stellar first-half performance.

  • Singapore to tighten casino rules to counter terrorism funding

    Singapore will lower the threshold for checks on cash deposits received by casinos in a bid to prevent exploitation by terrorist and criminal organisations.

  • AI is changing banking, UBS executive says

    UBS is seeing a shift in the way clients are interacting with their bankers powered by artificial intelligence, the head of the Swiss bank's domestic business Sabine Keller-Busse said on Tuesday. She likened the shift to the way in which patients go to the doctor's with a picture of their ailment in mind, with clients using AI to come up with ideas they are then proposing to the bank. "In our industry this will happen as well because with Chat GPT there is more data available," Keller-Busse said at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich.

  • Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Nvidia, Super Micro Computer and Broadcom

    Nvidia, Super Micro Computer and Broadcom are part of the Zacks Investment Ideas article.

  • British couple become wealthier than Larry Fink after £2.5bn BlackRock deal

    A husband and wife duo who built an outdoor theatre on the grounds of their Suffolk farm estate have been catapulted into Britain’s rich list after netting £2bn from the sale of their financial data business.

  • Petrobras (PBR) Puts Off the Barracuda-Caratinga FPSO Tender

    Petrobras (PBR) delays the Barracuda-Caratinga FPSO tender for the second time due to difficulty in attracting floater companies for its Campos basin project.

  • New Strong Buy Stocks for July 1st

    EAT, APOG, DAKT, M and HES have been added to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) List on July 1, 2024.

  • How to navigate CD investments before an interest rate cut

    As interest rates remain high and Wall Street awaits the Federal Reserve's rate cut, Curinos head of wealth Korrynn Baltzersen joins Wealth! to discuss how investors should navigate certificates of deposit (CDs) amid the current economic backdrop. "What we've seen for the first time in recent history is that wealth clients are adopting retail CDs. And what's happening there, at the start of 2023, CDs represented just 3% of wealth deposits. And clients were adopting CDs, about 10% of acquisition balances going into retail CDs. That picked up greatly last year, as you could get to a 5% handle on a CD, there's something in the mentality of an investor that 5% seems great. And so even wealth clients started adopting CDs at a much higher pace," Baltzersen explains. She notes that historically when the Federal Reserve has started cutting interest rates, "that's when the market outperformance led more investors into the market versus keeping that money in cash." She believes there will be a "real shift" once investors can no longer get a 5% handle, as "they can just get a higher yield in the market." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Melanie Riehl

  • Prime Broker Hidden Road Adds Major Crypto Exchanges, Expands Use of BlackRock’s BUIDL Token

    Hidden Road is now integrated with Coinbase International Exchange, OKX, Deribit, Bitfinex, AsiaNext, SIX Digital Exchange and Bullish.

  • iOS 18: the biggest new Apple iPhone features you need to know

    From AI-generated emojis to an overhauled Siri, these are the best perks coming to Apple devices later this year

  • Will Fed rate cut be 'reactive or proactive'?

    The June ISM manufacturing data fell short of expectations, reigniting speculation about a potential Federal Reserve rate cut. BCA Research chief US equity strategist Irene Tunkel joins Catalysts to share her insights on the central bank's next moves. Tunkel observes that "bad news appears to be good news" in this context. The slowing economic growth, she argues, creates conditions favorable for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut. She anticipates the first cut could come by the end of the year, partly due to "political uncertainty." However, Tunkel emphasizes that the crucial factor is whether the Fed's rate cut is "reactive or proactive." "I would argue that it may not matter when the Fed exactly cuts interest rates, but it matters what they say, and what is the perception of the market about the trajectory of interest rates," Tunkel tells Yahoo Finance. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts. This post was written by Angel Smith

  • US manufacturing extends slump; inflation pressures ebbing

    U.S. manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in June as demand remained subdued, while a drop in a measure of prices paid by factories for inputs to a six-month low suggested that inflation could continue to subside. The weakness at the end of the second quarter reported by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday was across the board, with ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee Chair Timothy Fiore describing manufacturers as demonstrating "an unwillingness to invest in capital and inventory due to current monetary policy and other conditions." Manufacturing is being pressured by higher interest rates and softening demand for goods, though business investment has largely held up.

  • Japanese deal for AI champion Graphcore faces national security review

    A proposed Japanese takeover of the British artificial intelligence company Graphcore is facing a national security review amid growing concern over foreign buyers targeting sensitive UK technology.

  • Questor: This ‘wonder drug’ firm is being backed by top fund managers

    Time waits for no-one.

  • Struggling with falling demand for farm equipment, Deere & Co. announces nearly 600 layoffs

    Deere & Co. is laying off nearly 600 workers as the farm equipment manufacturer deals with declining demand. Deere confirmed Monday that the production positions being cut are concentrated at two factories in Iowa and one at its home base in Moline, Illinois, where 280 employees will be laid off effective Aug. 30. A combined 310 workers will be let go at the Iowa locations.

  • How to make sure you don’t get underpaid when it comes to state pension

    Getting less than you were expecting could come as a nasty surprise but there are things you can do about it.

  • Apple Intelligence is not enough to drive China sales: UBS

    Apple's (AAPL) upcoming integration of Apple Intelligence software into its smartphone lineup may not be enough to boost sales in the Chinese market in 2025, according to UBS analyst David Vogt. He suggests that competition from Huawei's resurgence in China could slow Apple's regional growth prospects. Yahoo Finance tech reporter Dan Howley breaks down the details. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Angel Smith